Doesn't everyone have tea and toast for supper when their hubby is away for the week???  We just LOVE this maple syrup honey (oh, and the five minute dish doing is a super deal too).

Our world is drenched in colour and it is a fascinating phenomenon.  Lately we have been exploring colour with paint.  Squirting, mixing, thining, applying, drying, layering, brushing, stamping.  Acrylic, watercolour, finger paint.

 Somehow we are drawn to certain colours.  It depends on so many things.  The boys love mixing the colours to make new colours.  Iko always makes purples and pinks.  Ash makes a certain shade of silvery grey that we all really like.  The creations are purely random and experimental without any concern about the end result.  Hours can pass this way (of course these hours are followed by more hours of washing up....).  How else does one learn about colour?

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (translated from Italian 1986)

Reprinted from original 1800's version on September 1st 1986 by Unicorn Publishing House

Hardcover, 160 pages;    (isbn13: 9780881012712)

Snagged at a very cool used book store in Penticton this summer (along with many other classics you will hear about in coming months).

We love, love, love this book.  It has become known affectionately in our home as Pony-Nony (Ash lingo).  It is well written with a rich vocabulary (although some is antiquated) and intense, action packed storyline.  The Adventures of Pinocchio are truly engaging; the cast of characters wild; and the lessons to be learned are deep.  The nose-growing, Disney version of this story is really quite different from this full novel.  Each chapter is written with a cliff hanger style that had us in great anticipation for the next nights reading.  I was intrigued to learn how Iko's five year old mind perceived Pinocchio's naivete and innocence (and oh so frustrating decision making).  He was very curious to see what would happen to this equally curious puppet each time a villainous character lead him astray, but he did not communicate judgment until the very end when Pinocchio's character turns hard working, caring and generous.

A beautiful read aloud for all ages.

I said it before he was born.  I meant it, I really did.  I did not want to be a "rink mom".  No siree.  I really did mean it. 

But this little guy is so cute on the ice.  He is so cute in his small skates, small helmet, small elbow and shin pads, small chest armour, small hockey pants, and oh so small hockey gloves.

He is just as wide as he is tall.

I love how he circles the perimeter of the ice, pushing and gliding with stick in hand during the warm-up.

I love how he tries to follow the bigger kids during the drills and doesn't give up even when he's not quite on the same activity anymore.

I love his focus and concentration as he seriously tries to learn the techniques.

I love how he approaches the net (with the puck) in slow, steady strides.  I love how he stops completely about two feet from the goalie before sending the puck towards the net at a decidedly small pace.

I love how he backs up with purpose and energy to try scoring again.

I love his sweet smile when comes off the ice after hockey.

Creativity is an important part of our home life.  Not only does art help us express our inner thoughts and feelings, it also creates neurological paths between our eyes, brain and hands.  Drawing is also the gateway to handwriting (which I believe comes naturally from experimenting and finessing those fine motor skills).  So, we have the art cupboard.  The new and improved art cupboard (our supplies used to be squirreled away in the pantry and supervised around the tiniest bug).  The new cupboard is organized (oh yes) and accessible for little people.  It contains:  Stockmar beeswax crayons, Lyra pencils, markers, scissors, glue, variety of paper, stamps and ink pads, paint and brushes, stencils, oil pastels, chalk pastels, chalk and board, modelling beeswax, stapler, tape, paper clips, hole punches, strings and lots of doodads (yes this is a word!).  Not a day goes by without this cupboard being opened and its contents created with.

"Oh, isn't that what you do all the time?", asks the mama as she collects "treasures" out of her boots, the laundry basket, the bedsheets, the bathtub, the jar of oats, from under the carpet....

"But Mama, this is a special plan."  Aha!

The plan went as follows.  Find two smallish plastic containers.  Locate suitable (non-perishable, waterproof, exciting to discover, small) treasures in the house.  Put said treasures into boxes (one for Iko, one for Ash).  Take treasure boxes into the backyard forest and hide them.  Draw a treasure map (just in case ones memory does not serve).  Wait 'till spring snowmelt to discover the hidden treasure.

Just so you know the whole plan, the treasures included:  bits of beautiful wool, money, toy car, wooden blocks, a paper clip creation, pencils, moss, cotton ball and a (wordless) note to himself.

So, this map is top secret, classified information.  You can see by the arrows where to find the treasures.  X marks the spots.  Good luck to all you treasure seekers out there.

And the idea was concocted not a day too early as the snow is trying to make itself at home on the mountainside.

Here he is playing some of his tunes from Leila Fletchers Music Lessons Have Begun.  Vidoes are from my old, point and shoot camera so quality is not great but, the music is sure to wow you.

Don't know if I will ever tire of listening to these songs played by little hands.

Certainly a classic and so definitely wonderful to read.  The copy Iko and I used was from my childhood bookshelf (the price on the spine is $2.97 if that gives you any idea of my advancing age).  I absolutely loved re-reading this heartwarming story about a horse born to a well bred, upper class estate and his experiences that eventually lead him to a life of lonliness and servitude.  If one has not taken a moment to reflect on the treatment of animals presently, and in days gone by, this book will certainly provide gentle insight and reminders.  Horses have undergone so much in the name of serving humans.  It really is deplorable.

Black Beauty's character is genuine and easy to love for both children and adults alike.  The horse friends he makes along the way do love him, as do most of his masters.  It is easy to become attached to this horse and feel sadness as he is sent from home to home, often leaving people and horses that he loves dearly. 

The literary style is quite old and takes a bit of getting used to when reading aloud.  Much of the language is no longer used today but that doesn't seem to matter when one is reading for the gist of the story.  In fact, one objective of reading these classics aloud to children is the assimilation of literary vocabulary and grammar.  One of the best ways to learn a rich vocabulary and proper use of language is reading, reading and more reading.  But not just any old book will do.  Good literature is oh so helpful, if not essential.

Something from times gone by.  I have never made little people from corn husks before and it was amazingly simple and fun.  Not really an activity for five year olds to do solo, but together, it made for a nice, tea drinking, craft making kind of morning.  The husks were from our late summer meals.  We dried them and saved them in a cloth bag for a rainy day.  The only thing is, when I put things away for "another day" or "safe-keeping" I tend to forget about their existence AND (even more frustrating) their oh so safe location. 

Our kitchen window has been well adorned with seasonal art and craft this autumn.  I should say, however, that it is certainly intermittent.  Several of the dollies seem to go missing randomly throughout the day.  Our window display is neither static nor un-touchable.

On a side note, dolls have become a favourite plaything in our home.  Actually, they are called babies and come in many shapes and forms.  A small pillow wrapped in a blanket is a fine baby and stuffed bears are easily dressed in baby clothes so they more closely resemble small humans.  It is lovely to listen to my two boys discussing how to be a daddy and care for their babies.  Just might have to dream up a little more creative doll-making for them.  Something a little more cuddly than corn husks perhaps?

::  Climbing the cedar trees in our backyard.

::  Collecting the "perfect" pine cones from the forest around our house.

::  Applesauce muffins.

::  Two friends sharing a good book.

::  Puzzles, puzzles, and more puzzles.  Sweet Ash has mastered the 12 AND 24 piece jigsaws in our collection.  He certainly does concentrate on these.

::  Geoboard art.

::  Little people smiles.

::  Iko's newspapers.  Drawn in black ink, rolled up and stapled shut for delivery.

::  A caped dinosaur on skates.

::  Beautiful piano music made by five year old hands throughout the day...

(and EVERY evening with Daddy).